Tue. Mar 3rd 2009
At 10:43 hours, Company 3, Squad 3 and SOC team members were requested to respond to Route 501, just north of Eagle Eyrie, for a possible tractor-trailer over an embankment. Bedford County later received information to confirm the emergency with one patient still inside the vehicle. Assistant Chief 3 immediately requested aid from VDOT for traffic operations while emergency personnel was mitigating the scene.
Chief 2 and Deputy Chief 2 were first to arrive on scene and begin patient triage. Brush 3 and Fire-Rescue 3 arrived on scene to find members working on patient stabilization. Assistant Chief 3 established Lee-Jackson Highway command with one tractor-trailer over the embankment. The tractor and trailer at separated with the tractor approximately one hundred feet down into a tree. Units surprisingly found no fluids leaking from the tractor.
Firefighter Tyree assumed rope operations and began setting up the haul system when members from Rescue 1 arrived to help and shed more manpower. While additional members helped with patient care, others worked on clearing a path cutting saplings along the way. After the patient was loaded and strapped into the stokes basket additional help from Rescue 5 had arrived to help pull the victim to the roadway for transport to Lynchburg General.
After the patient was loaded and transported, units began cleaning up from the scene to get equipment back into service. VDOT was also called to the scene by VA State Police to see guardrail damage and the wrecked vehicle. VDOT officials decided to clean the debris and fix the guardrail on the next working day. Units operating on-scene were B3, FR-3, Medic 3-3, C2, FR-1, FR-5, TAC-1, Medic 14-5, VASP and VDOT. Rescue 8 was enroute, but requested to standy-by at Company one. All units cleared at 12:15.
Click picture to view larger image.Notice trailer on right and tractor further down on left.
Click picture to view larger image.
 Unit 320 and 347 are clearing path
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